Michigan lawmakers push to rein in energy rates, hold utility companies accountable

Michigan lawmakers are escalating calls for utility accountability after another stretch of high summer bills and storm-related outages, rolling out competing plans they say would protect ratepayers and force improvements in reliability. Democrats are pushing a three-bill package, known as the “Ratepayer Bill of Rights,” while House Republicans say they already passed their own plan out of the House and want to steer state energy policy toward affordability and reliability. The debate comes as customers across southeast Michigan continue to question what they are paying for when service disruptions drag on for days.